Protecting User Data in Ubiquitous Computing: Towards Trustworthy Environments

Abstract. In a Ubiquitous Computing environment, sensors are actively collecting data, much of which can be very sensitive. Data will often be streaming at high rates (video and audio) and it must be dealt with in real-time. Protecting the privacy of users is of central importance. Effective solutions for controlling access to data in ubicomp settings remain to be developed. Dealing with these issues will be a central challenge for ubicomp for some time to come. Here we propose some simple design principles which address several of these issues. We illustrate them through the design of a smart room capture system we are building. The main design principle is “data discretion:” users should have access and control of data about them, and should be able to determine how it is used. We show how data discretion supports both personal and collaborative uses. In our implementation, the data discretion principle is enforced with cryptographic techniques. Unlike ACL based access control s...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: PET
• Authors: Yitao Duan, John F. Canny
• Keywords: Data Discretion, Data Discretion Principle, PET 2004, Security Privacy, Ubicomp